More than 750 public health workers sent a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday, urging him to “stop spreading inaccurate health information” and guarantee employees’ safety, in the wake of a shooting at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this month.
The letter—signed by both named and anonymous current and former staffers at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), CDC, and National Institutes of Health who noted they signed the letter in their “own personal capacities”—said the attack on the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta on Aug. 8 “was not random.”
“The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization—and now, violence,” public health workers said in the letter, which was also addressed to members of Congress. “CDC is a public health leader in America’s defense against health threats at home and abroad. When a federal health agency is under attack, America’s health is under attack. When the federal workforce is not safe, America is not safe.”
The public health workers went on to accuse Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, of being “complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.” They cited several statements and actions that Kennedy has made in recent months, pointing to his claim that mRNA vaccines “fail to protect effectively” against upper respiratory infections such as COVID-19—despite years of research showing that the shots are both safe and effective—and his announcement that HHS would be winding down mRNA vaccine development. They also condemned his decision to remove all the experts from a critical vaccine advisory committee. And they said some of Kennedy’s past comments—such as claiming that there is a “cesspool of corruption at CDC”—were “sowing public mistrust” in the health agency.
Read more: Trump Administration to Wind Down mRNA Vaccine Development
The public health workers expressed their wish to honor police officer David Rose, who was killed while responding to the attack on the CDC headquarters in August.
HHS said in a statement to TIME that Kennedy “is standing firmly with CDC employees—both on the ground and across every center—ensuring their safety and well-being remain a top priority.” The agency added that, after the shooting earlier this month, Kennedy traveled to Atlanta and called the CDC “a shining star” among the world’s health agencies.
“For the first time in its 70-year history, the mission of HHS is truly resonating with the American people—driven by President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s bold commitment to Make America Healthy Again,” HHS said. “Any attempt to conflate widely supported public health reforms with the violence of a suicidal mass shooter is an attempt to politicize a tragedy.”
Law enforcement officials said they found evidence that the suspect in the August shooting, who they identified as Patrick Joseph White of Georgia, blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for his health ailments. White was found dead at the scene, and authorities later said that he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
CDC Director Susan Monarez noted the dangers posed by misinformation in a staff meeting in the wake of the attack. “We know that misinformation can be dangerous,” she said, according to NBC News. “Not only to health, but to those that trust us and those we want to trust. We need to rebuild the trust together.”
The day after the shooting, Kennedy expressed his condolences to Rose’s family in a post on X.
“We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” he said. “We are actively supporting CDC staff on the ground and across the agency. Public health workers show up every day with purpose—even in moments of grief and uncertainty. We honor their service. We stand with them. And we remain united in our mission to protect and improve the health of every American.”
Kennedy was one of President Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees, and faced heated questioning by Senators during his confirmation hearings. He has drawn outrage from the medical establishment in the past for spreading disinformation, including repeating the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism.
In their letter, public health workers claimed Kennedy’s “dangerous and deceitful statements and actions have contributed to the harassment and violence experienced by CDC staff.” They implored him to take three steps by Sept. 2 to “uphold his pledge to safeguard the health of the American public,” including asking him to “stop spreading inaccurate health information,” particularly regarding vaccines, infectious disease transmission, and the country’s public health institutions. They also urged him to affirm the scientific integrity of the CDC and guarantee the safety of HHS employees, such as through emergency procedures and alerts.
“The deliberate destruction of trust in America’s public health workforce puts lives at risk,” they wrote in the letter. “We urge you to act in the best interest of the American people—your friends, your families, and yourselves.”
